Dive Brief:
- A majority of customers want brands to personalize their interactions. About 4 in 5 global consumers, and three-quarters of U.S. consumers, are comfortable with personalization using publicly available information, according to a Boston Consulting Group survey released earlier this month.
- Among U.S. consumers, the most common benefits of personalized experiences are finding the best price, making the experience more enjoyable and making the experience faster or easier, according to the survey of 23,000 global consumers.
- More than one-quarter of baby boomer respondents say they are very uncomfortable with companies using public information to personalize experiences. Less than 1 in 10 Gen Z respondents say the same.
Dive Insight:
Personalization can take many forms, but simply letting customers know you recognize them can have an outsized impact.
The power of recognition often goes underappreciated in personalization and loyalty efforts, according to Mark Abraham, global leader of BCG’s personalization business. Personalized deals are an undeniably powerful tool, but brands shouldn’t underestimate the impact small touches can create.
“When you're talking about really nurturing these long standing relationships — the data definitely confirmed it in this report as well — simple acts of recognition can go a long way,” Abraham told CX Dive.
These acts can change depending on the brand. BCG’s study highlighted baristas writing customers’ names on cups as an example of the way personalized interactions can build loyalty on the individual level.
However, the human-centric approach won’t work for every company, according to Abraham. Some kinds of companies can truly turn human interaction into sales and loyalty, but for others a more automated approach will deliver results for a fraction of the investment.
“I always advise clients that while there may be a general trend that, yes, the human touch is valuable, there's also obviously a massive cost, and it only makes sense for certain segments to invest in that,” Abraham said.
Amazon is an example of a company recognizing customers at scale. The company’s one-click shopping feature uses past purchase data to make future transactions easier, and the approach has been adopted in a wide range of industries as businesses look to offer a personal touch in a small but significant way.
